Nanowires are studied due to their potential use in applications such as nanoscale electronic, magnetic, optical, and mechanical devices. These types of materials have been employed for the fabrication of field emission devices, microwave devices, high-density magnetic recording devices, nanoelectrodes, and sensors, among others.
In particular, Cu NWs have potential applications in the microelectronics industry for interconnection in electronic circuits. They are also being explored as emitters in field emission devices and as transparent conducting electrodes for solar cell and flexible electronic devices. Ag NWs, on the other hand, are attracting attention because of their peculiar electrical, thermal, and optical properties. Transparent conductive films of Ag nanowires have proven to have the potential to replace the commonly used tin-doped indium oxide ITO films in applications such as solar cells, displays, touch panels, organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), etc. Other studies on Pd NWs show that they play a key role in fuel cell research and are being extensively studied for catalytic combustion, methanol oxidation, hydrogen sensors, and hydrogen storage [16,9].
Many chemical methods have been developed for the preparation of NWs such as lithography [17], chemical vapor deposition, and electrodeposition. Among these methods, the template synthesis is considered a useful technique that can be used for the preparation of different types of nanostructures in which diverse porous materials are commonly used as casts. Commercial anodic alumina membranes (AAM) are commonly used as templates due to their stability at high temperatures and in organic solvents. Their morphology consists of an ordered array of cylindrical pores perpendicular to the surface, which helps in the fabrication of oriented nanostructures with a specific shape and diameter.
The quest for novel synthesis methods to produce nano-objects that provide control over specific structural, geometrical, and spatial features is one of the main topics of interest in nanotechnology. Therefore, this invention provides the synthesis of Cu, Ag and Pd NWs through the novel and low cost method of solid-state reduction (SSR) using AAM as a template. Pd NWs were also obtained by electrodeposition and the results are compared.